Researchers extract technology raw material germanium from plants

A group of German scientists is working on the extraction of germanium, an important raw material for the construction of electronics, from plants. This should make collecting this material easier and cheaper.

One of the researchers, Professor Hermann Heilmeier, explained in a conversation with the Reuters news agency how the extraction of germanium works. Typically, germanium is extracted from the ground in small quantities, but this is a complex process that involves high costs. However, the German researchers use plants to do the heavy lifting: they ensure that plants absorb germanium in the roots, after which it can be extracted. This is possible, for example, with sunflowers, maize and reed grass.

According to Heilmeier, the extraction of germanium in this way is considerably more efficient than with the conventional methods. This is partly because the extraction can take place in a biogas installation. Because the germanium can be extracted during the conversion of plant material into biogas, setting up the extraction method does not require much extra money.

The researchers have been researching germanium extraction from plants for several years now. They recently discovered the best way to scale up the production process: currently only a few milligrams of germanium are recovered per liter of fermented plant material during extraction. The researchers want to scale this up to a gram per liter to make it commercially attractive. Due to a financial injection from the German government, the extraction should soon be scaled up.

Germanium is an important raw material used for several electronic devices. In recent years, warnings have been issued for a worldwide shortage of germanium; it is one of the rare earth metals, with production mainly in China.